Business

PALATKA, FL- A hot, made the way you like it, breakfast has always been a traditional way to start the day in Palatka. There is nothing like walking into a small town diner where everyone knows your name in the morning and having a hot cup of coffee, a warm smile, and a delicious breakfast made just the way you like it.

The new budget for Jacksonville Beach in 2012 DOES NOT include a 4th of July Firework Display for the community to enjoy on this Patriotic Holiday.

The firework show ultimately costs $25,000 in itself. Despite donations made to the city to help with costs, the issue at hand is the money that goes to public works and police who prepare for, and clean up after the firework display. The proclaimed additional costs for these services are an estimated $55,000, making the event cost an approximate $80,000.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- If you drive a car in Florida you are required to have personal injury protection, PIP, this mandatory insurance has been required since 1972.

But now there's a move to change it. The state's insurance commissioner says the no fault insurance is riddled with fraud and bogus claims.

"It's like whack a mole. You close it down one place and it pops up somewhere else. They're very proficient at finding those weaknesses."

Kevin McCarthy said the system is costing Floridians hundreds of millions of dollars on their car insurance premiums. The Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater agrees and says it's time to fix it or flush it.

"You can't keep throwing consumers to the wolves"

Atwater said the frequency of crashes is down in Florida, but PIP payments are up 70 percent in just the last two years. Change is necessary.

As the U.S. keeps a close eye on the stock market; CareerBuilder’s survey shows the financial situation for some households is improving. Forty-two percent of workers say they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, an improvement from 43 percent in 2010 and in line with levels seen back in 2007. The number of workers who have missed a bill payment has decreased year-over-year; one-in-five (20 percent) say they have missed payments on bills in the last year, slightly improved from 22 percent at this time last year. This is according to a new nationwide survey of more than 5,200 workers by CareerBuilder that was conducted from May 18 to June 3, 2011.

Academy Sports + Outdoors is fully stocked with back-to-school apparel, backpacks and kids footwear for Florida’s tax-free weekend Aug. 12 through 14. Nearly all items we carry will meet the state's limit on individual items being under $75 thanks to our everyday low prices. Academy’s apparel line caters to elementary through high school students, and our selection will help kids and parents begin this school year in style at the best price.

Carnival Cruise Lines canceled its seven-day sailings out of Jacksonville this year, opting instead to add more shorter cruises from the Florida port.

According to a Carnival spokesman, the line announced a short series of seven-day cruises on the 2,052-passenger Carnival Fascination, to complement the ship's year-round, four- and five-day cruises from Jacksonville.